Apple’s NEW Accessibility Features
We are taking a look at Apple’s newly announced Accessibility features!
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! What better fitting than for Apple to release new accessibility features on Tuesday? Let us take a quick look at them!
Picture of a MacBook with new accessibility Phonetic Suggestions
In a press release, Apple detailed the new software, which will be released later this year and was created in collaboration with disabled people. "At Apple, we've always believed that the best technology is built for everyone," said Apple's CEO, Tim Cook. "Today, we're excited to share incredible new features that build on our long history of making technology accessible so that everyone has the opportunity to create, communicate, and do what they love."
Photo of iPhone with Live Speech showing
These features include Live Speech, where users type what they want to say, and it's then spoken out loud during phone calls, FaceTime, or real-life conversations. There's even a feature called Personal Voice for users at risk of losing their ability to speak, and it's a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like them. Point and Speak will be another sought-after feature, expanding accessibility for people with vision-related disabilities by permitting them to point their camera at a physical object with a text label (like a stove in the kitchen) and read it aloud.
Photo of iPhone Assistive Access Camera
This is an excellent way to raise attention around digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities. Stay tuned. As soon as I can get my hands on these features, I will. :)
ALL IMAGES SHOWN ARE COURTESY of Apple Inc. Images, video, and audio cannot be altered or modified in any way, in whole or in part without express permission from Apple.
2023 100th NAB Show: Accessibility
No matter what kind of creator you are, you've probably heard of the NAB Show at some point in your profession. Some of the world's most talented creatives run out to Las Vegas to attend NAB each year. While at NAB, they can find new technologies, share wisdom, make new relationships and experience workshops hosted by Future Media Conferences and many others.
It showcases broadcasting, media, and entertainment advancements, with brands revealing their latest technologies. Let's look at the major highlights from NAB 2023 that deal with accessibility within technology that I have found.
First, I visited Sony with their new RTK Real-Time Kinematic Kit release for their drone. I also had a lovely talk with a few people about their SDKs about seeing what they are doing to make their hardware and software more accessible. I can't go into much detail, but they work on great things and continue pushing the camera market's bounds, making them accessible to everyone.
Second, I visited Adobe and talked to them about accessibility within Premiere Pro and After Effects. I spoke to the accessibility head for After Effects. She was remarkably insightful and knows a long way needs to be done, especially on the Mac side. Then I got invited to a party, and I got to meet the Product Manager for Premiere; he said that massive changes are coming later this year, without disclosing too much but that they will be able to utilize things that they cannot due to limitations of the app, such as more with voiceover on the Mac.
Then third, while I was at the Adobe booth, I also caught up with Frame.io. I talked to their marketing expert, and he was more than helpful. I told him some insightful feedback to give the Teams there, like the accessibility with Zoom sometimes doesn't work with the Final Cut Pro extension tool. I told him there were also a few others I could see improvement. Another thing I mentioned do they have disabled people on their team not just for diversity and inclusion but to test the product. He said that was something they hadn't thought about, so there could be significant opportunities for me to expand on this topic in a future blog post.
Forth, I had a very excellent conversation with Blackmagic and Resolve. They have done great things for the visually and hearing impaired by using transparent colors within macOS and VoiceOver on the Mac! I talked to a specialist who will get me a form to submit more feedback.
Last but not least were the excellent accessibility sessions that went on. I attended a TON, and this was honestly the most moving part of the NAB Show 100th Anniversary. I sat in a panel that had visually and hearing impaired. They said they should always be included in the video field as a producer, director, or just some aspect of the process. And this statement I couldn't agree more with this; ordinary people can NOT do audio descriptions within closed captions or audio SFX. People with disabilities need to get into the conversations within the production that is going on.
Let me know if you visited NAB 2023 and your favorite accessibility thing that a company announces. Maybe next year, I will go and see them and write a blog post about it! :)
Some photos provided by NAB Show Press
Top 5 Accessibility Attributes in macOS Ventura
#1: Live Captions
Live Captions is a hearing accessibility feature that will use on-device intelligence to display captions similar to closed captions on YouTube automatically. You can change the captions by font, size, color, and background color.
This feature works across all the apps on your Mac, including but not limited to Final Cut Pro, Logic, MainStage, iMovie, and Garageband. Live Captions benefits anyone audibly impaired by helping them edit a video inside Final Cut Pro or multiple other tasks system-wide. One elegant feature is when you switch to the microphone mode (by clicking the microphone icon on the box that appears when Live Captions is activated), your device listens for the conversations around you and displays a transcription on the screen. I have seen this used in news interviews with NBC News for the TODAY Show! It's that accurate.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You MUST have an Apple Silicon Mac for Live Captions to work, and it will NOT work on Intel Macs.
How do you turn on Live Captions? Follow below:
Go to System Settings, then Accessibility.
Under hearing, click on Live Captions.
Use the toggle beside Live Captions to turn it on. You can also adjust the font type, size, color, and background color from here.
#2: Type to Speak With Live Captions
In addition to Live Captions, you can now respond to people during FaceTime calls with words. You can also use Live Captions on any supported video conferencing app such as Webex. All you need to do is type out your replies, and Live Captions will read them out loud to the other person.
How do you turn on Live Captions during FaceTime calls? Follow below:
Go to Accessibility
Under hearing, click on Live Captions and toggle on Live Captions in FaceTime.
Now, click on the speech icon in the macOS menu bar.
Next, select Type to Speak from the dropdown menu, and you're ready to speak!
You can now return to FaceTime and type in the box that says Type here.
Don't worry if you can't hear what you've typed. You WILL NOT be able to listen to your words, but the person on the other end WILL.
NOTE: The image in #1 shows this feature on! :)
#3: Voice Control Spelling Mode
Voice Control is a swell feature that allows you to dictate to your Mac while it transcribes your declarations into a text format. However, macOS Ventura's Spelling Mode gives you more control over the accuracy of the text result.
So, instead of saying names, numbers, or words your Mac might not recognize, you can easily use the spelling mode to input the desired text.
How do you turn on Spelling Mode on your Mac? Follow below:
Go to Accessibility, then click on Voice Control under Motor.
Turn on Voice Control.
Say Spelling Mode.
Once Spelling Mode is enabled, dictate each character to type it out.
And remember to speak Dictation Mode once you have accomplished spelling and would like to proceed with your dictation.
#4: Hang Up FaceTime Calls With Voice Control
If you're a long-time Mac user, you have already learned to use Voice Control.
It's a valuable tool that allows you to give your Mac commands, such as "Open Safari" or "Zoom Window." With macOS Ventura, you can use Voice Control to end FaceTime calls. So, instead of clicking on End Call, end calls by saying Hang up.
How do you turn on Voice Control? Follow below:
Go to System Settings, then Accessibility.
Go to Motor, then Voice Control.
Toggle the switch to turn on Voice Control.
#5: Background Sounds
If sounds around you easily preoccupy you, you'll benefit from macOS Ventura's convenient new accessibility feature, Background Sounds. You can now play soft, soothing white noise in the surroundings while on your Mac.
How to turn on Background Sounds in macOS? Follow below:
Go to System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar.
Under hearing, click on Audio.
Turn on Background Sounds by clicking on the toggle beside it.
Click on Choose to select a background sound.
macOS Ventura has many new accessibility features that push you to use your Mac more comfortably. No matter the disability your vision, hearing, or motor needs, these new features guarantee an improved user experience.
If you are not on macOS Ventura, consider elevating your Mac to the latest macOS to appreciate the new accessibility elements and other hidden gems that come with it. To make it more enjoyable to use and have Apple be your go-to for your computer needs.
These are just a few of the new within macOS Ventura. I invite you to check them out TODAY! Let me know what you think of the features in the comments below.